From ten finalist poems selected by Sweet editors, final judge Chelsea Dingman (National Poetry Series Winner for Thaw, 2017) chose McKayla Conahan’s poem “1943” as the winner of the inaugural Sweet Poetry Competition. Conahan will receive $500 and 10 broadsides of the poem.

Sarah Stockton’s poem “Protection Rite for Most of the Girls” was noted as a runner up.

The other finalists were:
Bailey Cohen: “Self-Portrait of Yurico Praying to Mosquito with Snapped Proboscis”
Andrew Dugan: “Milk Thistle”
Kelsey Frank: “In the Produce Section”
Grace Gilbert: “threnody for what’s left of you”
Phyllis Klein: “Hardware”
Pete Mackey: “The Grief”
Allie Marini: “Vanished”
Sara Ryan: “My Father Asks if I Was Raised by a Jackal”

These poems will be published in the September issue of Sweet. Many thanks to all who entered their fine work.